


One of Those Nights

by prettyfaroutman



Series: Lovely Little Ficlets 31 Day Challenge [10]
Category: Nothing Much to Do
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-07 10:19:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3171245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettyfaroutman/pseuds/prettyfaroutman





	1. Party

**7pm**

Pedro had invited Balthazar over early to help prepare for the party. There wasn’t a whole lot that needed to be done, but Pedro figured they could string up some fairy lights and arrange the food and drinks in a somewhat appealing manner.

And he wouldn’t have admitted this to anyone else, but it gave him a good excuse to have some time just with Balthazar before everyone else arrived. In the past few months or so, he’d noticed that every time he’d hung out with Balthazar, he always left wanting more time together. At first he had simply noted it with a slight curiosity, but the feeling was getting stronger, to the point where it was becoming distracting. The only solution he’d figured out so far was to maximize their one-on-one hangout time, though if anything that was probably exacerbating the problem as much as it was helping.

Nonetheless, he was slightly disappointed when he answered the door and Ursula was there along with Balthazar.

“Hey! Come on in. I didn’t realize you were coming early too, Urs. Things might be boring for a couple hours, so I hope you don’t mind.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Balthy needed a ride since Rosa’s back in town and she apparently swiped the car for the evening.”

“Plus, that way I have a designated driver,” Balthazar said, smirking.

“Ah ha, I see what’s going on here!” Pedro laughed. “Gonna be one of those nights, huh?”

Balthazar shrugged. “I just figured it was better to be on the safe side.”

“Got it, got it. Well, no need to wait - you want a beer?”

 

**9pm**

By the time people began arriving for the party, Pedro and Balthazar were each already three beers in. Ursula had said that she wanted to have some quiet time before everyone arrived and made herself scarce, which allowed Pedro the time he wanted with Balthazar - though, as usual, it didn’t feel like enough.

“Bea! Hero!” Pedro cried when they showed up at the door. “Can I take your coats?”

“Such formal service,” Bea quipped, sharing a look of faux amazement with Hero. “I feel like royalty!”

“Come off it,” Pedro said, and Bea laughed. “Balth and Ursula are in the living room if you want to join them. I’ll be in in a sec.”

Once he’d taken care of their things, he returned to find the four of them chatting in the living room.

“Pedro,” Bea said as he came in, “Do you know who all is coming tonight? Ursula and Balthazar didn’t know.”

“Oh, y’know, the usual crowd. I asked some of the football guys and the other Messina High council folks as well. Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering if June was coming?” She had a mischievous glint in her eye that Pedro didn’t like.

“Uh, maybe? I don’t know. Why?”

“Just that she was eyeing you up at the football match last weekend. Hero and I think you should go for it.”

“I said no such thing!” Hero laughed. She turned to Pedro. “Not that you shouldn’t. But only if you want to, obviously.”

“Um…” Pedro’s eyes flitted to Balthazar, whose attention seemed to be focused on his beer. “I hadn’t thought about—”

“But isn’t she awesome?” Bea asked.

“She’s okay, I guess…”

Just then, the doorbell rang again, and Pedro leapt up, eager to escape the conversation.

 

**11:30pm**

The house was throbbing with people and noise, and Pedro had been playing the dutiful host, mixing drinks, making sure all the food stayed well-stocked, playing arbiter when there was a disagreement between people wanting to DJ. By the time things settled into a groove, he realized he’d completely lost track of Balthazar. He began searching through the house a room at a time, trying his best not to stumble into people but feeling the effects of however many drinks he’d had (he’d lost track of that as well).

“Pedro!” Ursula waved him over, coat in hand, as he walked through the front hall.

“Ursula! What’s up? Where you going?”

“I kinda feel like shit. I think I might be getting sick? Anyway, I need to go home, so can you maybe give Balthazar a ride later?”

Pedro laughed. “Well, I don’t think I’m fit to drive tonight, but I’m sure we can find someone. No worries. Feel better!” He leaned in to hug her, then she pulled her coat on and slipped out the door. “Now, if I can only find Balthy and let him know…” he said to himself.

He did two laps around the party before noticing a light under his bedroom door. He knocked as he came in.

“…but like what can I even say? Oh!” Balthazar was talking to Meg, but stopped abruptly when he noticed Pedro come in.

“Don’t you wait for a response when you knock?” Meg asked. She had a smile on her face, but it was clear she wasn’t joking.

“Well, this is my bedroom,” Pedro pointed out. “Besides, there’s no way I would be able to hear you out there anyway. What are you two up to in here?” He suddenly felt awkwardly on the spot, and wished he had waited to come in.

“Just chatting,” Meg said flippantly. “What are you up to?”

“I was looking for Balthazar. Ursula told me to tell you she went home, so you need to find another ride. Sorry, mate. She was getting sick or something.”

“Oh…um, okay? I guess…Meg?”

“Don’t think there’s room in our car. Charlotte’s driving but we were packed to the gills on the way here.”

“I guess I should go find someone…”

“Nah, don’t worry,” Pedro said, sitting on the floor with them and gesturing for Balthazar to stay. “You’ve got plenty of time. So what were you chatting about?”

Balthazar and Meg shared a brief look, before Meg said, “I was just telling Balth that I have a bit of a crush on this guy, but I don’t know what to do about it. He was giving me advice.”

“Ooh! What guy?”

“Um…well, that new guy, from Indonesia? Kusuma?”

“Ah, yeah? I don’t know him that well. Is he cool?”

“Yeah! Yeah, he’s cool. But so, Balth was just saying that he thinks I should tell him how I feel, even if I’m not sure how he feels. Right, Balth?”

“Um. Yeah,” he muttered, taking a generous sip of his beer.

“So I think I’m gonna do it.”

“That’s great!” Pedro said.

“Anyway,” she said, moving to get up, “I think I’m gonna—“

The door burst open, and Ben’s voice boomed into the room. “Pedro! Host man! Fearless leader! You’re needed on the dance floor! Hey Balthy, Meg - wanna come dance too?”

“Nah,” Balthazar said, leaning back against the dresser. “I’m good here.”

“Come on, Pedro,” Ben said, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him up. “Meg? You down?”

“Ah…” she glanced at Balthazar. “I think I’ll stay here, actually. Thanks, though.”

“Your loss! Dance floor, ahoy!”

Pedro stole one last glance back at Balthazar, just long enough to wonder why he looked upset when he’d been in a cheerful party mood earlier, before getting absorbed back into the party.

 

**2am**

The last of the guests filed out as Pedro began tidying up. He was still pretty drunk, so he planned to deal with the cans and cups and bottles in the morning, but he wanted to get the food put away so the cat didn’t get into anything she shouldn’t.

He felt the way he almost always did after a party - exhilarated, exhausted, and just a bit grumpy to see the end of things. But this time, his grumpiness was compounded by the fact that Balthazar had left without saying goodbye. It was so uncharacteristic of him that Pedro couldn’t help wondering if Balthazar was angry with him. But dealing with that would have to wait, too, at least until the morning when he had all his wits about him again.

When he was satisfied with the half-assed cleaning job he’d done, he shuffled to his bedroom door, where light was still streaming out from under the closed door. He stepped into the room to find Balthazar, fully clothed and asleep, on his bed. He quickly spun to turn off the light, and his head kept spinning, so he sank to the ground to contemplate what to do.

Even if he woke Balthazar, there was no one who could drive him home - he would definitely have to stay the night. Which meant he may as well let Balthazar sleep where he was, even though it couldn’t be comfortable sleeping on top of the blankets in his jeans and cardigan. So the question was, where would Pedro sleep?

The couch was the most obvious solution, but as Pedro sat contemplating his options, his eyes adjusted to the dark and he found himself entranced by Balthazar’s sleeping features. Pedro wanted to be close to him, even more so because tiredness and alcohol had lowered his inhibitions. But he wasn’t so drunk that he would just crawl into bed with him, so he decided to crash on the floor in front of the bed.

He ditched his jeans in the corner and grabbed a blanket from his closet. He wanted to snag one of his pillows, but Balthazar had one under his head and the other clutched in his arms. Pedro tried to ease the pillow out of Balthazar’s arms, but he sleepily pulled it closer, burying his face in it, so Pedro had to resort to using a throw pillow from the other room.

His body felt unusually heavy as he lay on the floor, and he fell asleep almost immediately.


	2. Sleepover

**3:45am**

Pedro woke groggily to something crashing into his legs and a whispered, “shit, shit, shit.”

“Balthazar?”

“Pedro? What are…why are you on the floor?”

“You were in my bed, mate.”

“Shit. Sorry, sorry. I just…I need the toilet,” he mumbled, stumbling out the door.

Pedro let his head rest back on the stiff throw pillow, and his eyes fell closed of their own accord. He was near sleep again when Balthazar returned.

“Pedro? You awake?”

“Uh, sort of…you okay, man? Were you sick?”

“Nah, I’m okay. You should take your bed, though. Let me take the floor.”

“S’okay. I’m here already, so whatever.”

“No really, I would feel terrible.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Pedro, please.”

Pedro scrunched his eyes and sat up, the room spinning as he did so. “Balth, I’m not gonna make you sleep on the floor.”

“Well, I could, like, scooch over. We could share the bed.”

Pedro’s stomach did something uncomfortable. Sharing a bed with Balthazar seemed simultaneously like a golden opportunity and the worst idea ever. But he was tired enough that anything to keep from arguing any longer felt like the best option.

“Fine. Get in. Wait!” Pedro said, as Balthazar pulled the covers back. “Don’t sleep with all your clothes on, man. That’s so uncomfortable.”

“I’m, uh…I’m fine.”

“At least take your jeans off. Sleeping in jeans is the worst.”

Balthazar hesitated, then said, “Yeah, okay.” He peeled his jeans off and tossed them on the floor, then slipped under the covers.

Pedro followed him, laying right at the edge of the bed to give Balthazar as much space as possible. He stuffed one of his pillows - which now smelled like Balthazar’s hair gel, he noticed - under his ear and shut his eyes.

But suddenly he was completely awake. Every movement, every breath from the other side of the bed, registered in Pedro’s nervous system like an alarm bell. He adjusted his position slightly, and the back of his hand glanced against Balthazar’s hand. Balthazar then shifted, and his feet grazed Pedro’s.

“Your toes are cold.”

“The tile in the bathroom…sorry…”

“S’okay. Here, warm them up.” Pedro offered his feet over, slipping them between Balthazar’s, their shins tangling. For a moment, the sound of their feet swishing together drowned out the sound of Balthazar’s breath.

Pedro’s eyes were still resolutely shut, so he was startled when he again felt Balthazar’s hand brush his, but this time he felt fingers wrapping around his palm. He inhaled sharply.

“Pedro…”

He opened his eyes to find Balthazar’s eyes, which looked enormous at this proximity, studying his face. The room had begun to spin again, though Pedro wasn’t sure if it was the booze or the adrenaline.

“Balth…”

Before he realized what he was doing, he grabbed Balthazar’s t-shirt, pulling him into a sloppy, frantic kiss. He felt a hand in his hair, which drove him further forward, insatiable.

“Pedro, I…” Balthazar whispered against Pedro’s lips.

“I know.” He reached for Balthazar’s face, drawing him closer.

“No, I…”

“Me, too.”

“Pedro, I…I’m still drunk.”

Pedro paused, gasping for breath. “Oh. Oh. Yeah, me too.” It was so far from what he’d thought Balthazar was saying that the words felt like a slap. Was this all a mistake? He knew this hadn’t happened only because he was drunk, but what if Balthazar didn’t want this? Oh God, what if he thought Pedro was taking advantage?

“Yeah...”

“I’m so sorry,” he began, pulling back. “I’m so, so sorry—“

“It’s okay. Sharing the bed was probably a bad idea…”

“No, it’s fine! I’ll just turn over. See? Facing away. We’re fine. I’m sorry. Go back to sleep. I’m sorry.”

He felt Balthazar turn away to the wall, then pulled at his hair, catching his breath. He lay awake for what felt like ages, silently cursing himself for fucking everything up, before he finally succumbed to sleep.


	3. Olives

**8am**

Pedro’s head throbbed as his eyelids fluttered and a sunbeam stabbed him in the eye. He groaned and rolled over, wondering if there was any way he could get a drink of water without getting out of bed. When he rolled comfortably into an empty bed, however, he realized that something was missing.

“Balthazar?”

He sat up too quickly and felt the bile rise in his throat, but now that he’d remembered Balthazar stayed over, and what happened in the middle of the night, his number one priority was to make sure Balth was okay, hangover be damned. He forced himself to his feet, yanked his jeans on, and rubbed his eyes, taking stock of the room. Balthazar’s jeans had disappeared, as had the throw pillow. The extra blanket was folded neatly and draped over the back of Pedro’s desk chair. Pedro held his head for a moment to keep it from splintering into pieces, then ventured out into the living room.

“Balthazar?” he called softly.

“In here,” came an agitated voice from the bathroom. “Where’s the fucking ibuprofen?”

“In the kitchen. Are you okay?”

Balthazar opened the bathroom door and shot past Pedro to the kitchen, avoiding his eyes. “Just a hangover.”

Pedro took a deep breath, hoping that that really was the only problem. “Yeah, me too. Wicked one. Here, let me find it for you.” He pulled open the cabinet above the kettle and took out the bottle, shaking four pills into his palm and offering two of them out. “You need a glass of water?”

“Got one,” Balthazar said, stepping over to the kitchen table, which was still strewn with amber bottles and red plastic cups. He picked up the small jam jar full of water that was out of place among the party remnants and knocked back the pills. “I gotta go.”

“Wait! Can we talk?” Pedro could hear the clinginess in his voice, but he couldn’t be bothered to care.

“I feel like shit. I gotta go.”

“What would make you feel better? Let me do something for you.”

Balthazar sighed. “I’m fine, okay? We don’t need to talk. We can just pretend nothing happened. I just need to go home right now.”

“I don’t want to pretend nothing happened! Balthazar, please, let’s talk about this, okay?” His head throbbed as his voice gradually rose in pitch.

Balthazar met his eyes finally, then nodded slowly. “Okay. But I really need to take care of this hangover first.”

“What do you need? We’ll take care of it, no worries.”

“Coffee would be great. Maybe some toast? And lots more water.”

“Water is easy,” Pedro said, pulling two much larger glasses out of the cupboard and filling them, handing one to Balthazar and taking a long pull off the other. “But my parents don’t drink coffee. We have tea? Let me see about toast…” He rummaged through the party debris on the counter. “Well, it looks like the only bread we have is this olive bread that my mum made the other day. Is that okay?”

“Olive bread?” Balthazar pulled a face. “That’s…no, sorry, that’s horrible.”

Pedro nodded. “Okay. No coffee, no toast…sounds like we better go to the coffee shop then. Up for a walk?”

Balthazar collapsed on one of the kitchen chairs. “Ugh. I guess? Let me have another glass of water first.”

 

**9am**

The short walk to the coffee shop had been mostly filled with awkward silence. Pedro felt bad for Balthazar - he could tell that the alcohol had hit him much harder. Pedro still wasn’t feeling great, but the water and ibuprofen had helped loads, and he had sunglasses to wear, so he was definitely the better off of the two. There wasn’t much he could do or say to change that, though, so he stuffed his hands in his pockets and hoped that coffee would help.

They stepped up to the counter together, and Pedro waited for Balthazar to order, barely paying any attention until the barista recognized him.

“Pedro? Hey! I didn’t know you came here.”

“June! I…didn’t know you worked here…”

She swung her long dark pony tail over her shoulder. “So what’s your drink?”

“I’d like a large Americano, _please_ ,” Balthazar growled, his eyes on the counter.

Pedro nodded. “Yeah, so his drink, plus a medium drip for me. And two muffins. I’ll get this, Balth.”

“I’ll be over there,” he said, shuffling off toward a table by the window.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” June joked, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial murmur. “Good of you to caffeinate him.”

“Yes, well…” Pedro trailed off, glancing over his shoulder at Balthazar. He pulled a few bills out of his wallet and slid them across the counter, ignoring June as she wished him a good day.

“Bea was right,” Balthazar said glumly as Pedro set the muffins and the drinks on the small table.

“What?”

“About June.”

“Oh.” Pedro wanted to deny it, but he knew it would be disingenuous, so he said nothing.

Balthazar blew on his drink, then took a large sip. “So are you gonna go for it?”

Pedro frowned. “What?”

“With June.”

“Uh…no?” Pedro chuckled, though he was confused.

“You should. She seems wonderful.”

He blinked, then shook his head. “Balthazar…just no. We need to talk. And not about June. How are you feeling? Are you ready to talk?”

Balthazar took another long, slow sip of his coffee. “Fine. Talk.”

Pedro sighed. “Are you angry at me?”

“No.”

“Well, you’re kind of acting like it.”

He fidgeted a little in his chair. “Sorry.”

“Okay,” Pedro said. “Okay. So, I just want to say that I’m really sorry about what happened last night. I didn’t mean to—“

“Nope!” Balthazar began to get up, trying to shove the lid back onto his coffee. “Not ready. Not what I want to hear right now.”

“Balthazar! Please! Just sit. If that’s not what you want to hear, then tell me what is.”

Balthazar sat again, and his face fell into his hands. He mumbled something that Pedro couldn’t make out.

“What?”

He groaned. “I’m just so embarrassed. Nothing would have happened if I hadn’t fallen asleep on your bed. If I hadn’t…”

“It’s okay, though. At least it means we’re having this conversation.”

Balthazar didn’t answer immediately, but had some more coffee and a bit of the muffin. He was beginning to look slightly less peaky, so Pedro hoped he was actually feeling better.

“Let’s walk. There’s so many people here,” Balthazar said.

“Sure. Back to my house?”

“Um…I guess.”

 

**10am**

Pedro was expecting another mostly silent walk, but as soon as they rounded the corner, Balthazar began to speak.

“Look, I know that you regret what happened last night, so I’m sorry that I created that situation in the first place. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was drunk and tired, and…”

“Wait, what?”

“It’s my fault. I hate to hear you apologizing when it’s my fault. If you can’t be friends with me any more, then I understand.” He turned and finished the last of his coffee in a long drag, then hung his head.

Pedro cleared his throat. “I don’t regret it.”

“What?”

“I was drunk, but that’s not why I…look, I thought that…I don’t regret it,” he said again. “Is that…is that something you’d want to happen when we’re not drunk? Like, did you take my hand because you were drunk, or because…?”

Balthazar ran a hand through his hair. They walked a few more paces in silence, before Balthazar grabbed Pedro’s hand in answer.

Pedro didn’t hesitate - he turned and pulled Balthazar’s hand around his waist, running his hand up Balthazar’s arm as he kissed him, softly but urgently. “I don’t regret it,” he murmured again.

Balthazar smiled. “Me neither,” he answered, kissing him again.

When they came up for air, they realized they were only two blocks away from Pedro’s house.

“So…” Pedro began.

“So…I should probably, um, nap off this hangover. The coffee helped, though. Thank you.”

“Oh, yeah. Okay. I can give you a ride if—“

“But um, I could probably nap it off in your bed. If you want." He smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Although I feel like maybe I should brush my teeth first? Do you have an extra toothbrush?”

Pedro beamed, laughing. “Yeah, I think that can be arranged.”


	4. Family

**10:17am**

_**Balthazar to Mum:** couldn’t get a ride so stayed at pedro’s, hanging here today, love u_

 

**11:20am**

_**Mum to Pedro:** Hi hon, we’re on our way home, ETA ~4pm. Did you clean up after last night?_

 

**11:26am**

_**Mum to Pedro:** Also we’re out of bread. Can you pick some up if you have time today?_

 

**11:52am**

_**Mum to Pedro:** I’ll take your lack of response to mean that you’re on your way to the store._

 

**4:15pm**

“Pedro! Are you still asl…Balthazar?!”

Pedro nuzzled sleepily into Balthazar’s hair, before he realized whose voice had just addressed him. When it hit him, he sat up like a shot. “Mum!” Balthazar froze at his side, hiding under the covers.

“This place is a pigsty. What have you been doing all day?”

“Um. Sleeping.” _Mostly? Ish?_ “We were…I mean, I was up late last night. Really late.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t pick up the bread, then?” She cocked her hip in frustration.

“Uh…no.”

“Well, I’m going to need you and your friend to get up and clean this place immediately.”

She turned to go, but Pedro stopped her. “Wait, Mum…Balth is, um. He’s my boyfriend.”

“In that case, I’m going to need you and your boyfriend to get up and clean this place immediately.” She still sounded like she wasn’t messing around, but her voice softened just a touch.

“Will do. No problem.”

She paused in the doorway, and gave him a wry smile. “It’s okay. I was young once too, you know.” Then she turned and shut the door.

As soon as the door closed, Pedro and Balthazar both burst into a fit of nervous giggles. “Hope you don’t mind that I told her,” Pedro laughed. “I figured it wasn’t worth trying to hide it.”

“Would’ve been funny to see you try, though.”

“You mind helping me clean up? Are you feeling better?”

“Much, much better.” He smiled, and Pedro leaned down for another kiss.

 

**4:50pm**

“Pedro! When I said immediately I meant IMMEDIATELY!”

“Got it, Mum!”


End file.
